Where Islam spreads, freedom dies

The number of people born outside Britain but living in the country reached a record seven million last year as figures published yesterday cast doubt on whether the Government will meet its target to cut immigration.

More than one in eight of the country’s population was born outside the UK, a rise of two million in six years.

In London one third of residents was born outside the country and more than 55 per cent of births were to mothers born overseas.

The figures are a result of a decade of high net migration that continued last year with an increase of more than 20 per cent.

Net migration rose to 239,000 in 2010 as the number of people moving abroad fell, while the number of migrants from Eastern Europe coming to seek work increased eight-fold. The net migration figure — the difference between those leaving and those arriving to stay for more than a year — was the second highest annual figure.

Another statistic that jumps out of the ONS findings relates to Poles. In 2001, there were 896 babies born to Polish mothers in England and Wales; in 2010, there were 19,762. Meanwhile, births to Middle Eastern, African and Asian mothers amounted to 14.7 per cent – that’s twice the proportion of non-British European mothers. Add that 14.7 per cent to children born to non-white British mothers and within a few years, a quarter of young Britons will be black, Asian or of mixed race. In the capital, the total will be well over 50 per cent.